The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier than they had anticipated, having been ousted from the postseason in the opening round, which unfortunately marks a slight improvement from the past two seasons, during which they did not even qualify for the playoffs altogether. They have now done four seasons without securing a victory beyond regular season play.
Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we.
They did manage to go 12-4 during the regular season, and secured their first AFC North title since 2017, posting a new franchise record by opening the season with 11 consecutive wins, but of course it all fell apart after that. Their only victory after that required a 17-point comeback.
While we might not know all the details about what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were let up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2020 season.
Player: Jordan Dangerfield
Position: S
Experience: 4 Years
As of this writing, Jordan Dangerfield remains an unsigned unrestricted free agent. In light of the Steelers’ signing of former Detroit Lions safety/linebacker hybrid Miles Killebrew, it’s possible that he remains that way—or at least finds another team.
Serving as Pittsburgh’s special teams captain in 2020, Dangerfield has carved out a career for himself as an ace in this department, a four-phase player who averages about 300 special teams snaps per year, and 8-10 tackles in that area.
Given that he has only played 26 defensive snaps over the course of the past two years, however, with some of that coming in mop-up duty, though, it speaks to how the Steelers view him as a defensive contributor, with Sean Davis and Antoine Brooks both logging time ahead of him.
The team has been moving away from special teamers more in recent years, such as Roosevelt Nix, Anthony Chickillo, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and others. Some they have even lost in free agency, most notably Tyler Matakevich, who signed with the Buffalo Bills last year and was just given a one-year extension.
Dangerfield has actually been around the Steelers since 2014, and came out of Towson as an undrafted free agent the year before that. He first made the 53-man roster in 2016, even starting two games that year due to injury, but was on the practice squad a year after that following the trade for J.J. Wilcox. He has been on the 53 since then, developing into one of the most integral pieces in Danny Smith’s arsenal.
